


Viridian Valor

by MsFaust



Series: Magic, Miracles, and Marvels [4]
Category: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Genre: Biblical Allusions (Abrahamic Religions), Minor Character Death, Side Story, Suicide Attempt, Witch kisses, Witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:59:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23933449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsFaust/pseuds/MsFaust
Summary: Leonard Samson used to wonder why Bruce Banner stopped trying to cure himself. But an experience involving a mass suicide attempt, a blast of gamma radiation, and a girl with surprising power gives him a very good idea of what being a superhero is like.Takes place during the 5-year timeskip.
Series: Magic, Miracles, and Marvels [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1405843
Kudos: 2





	Viridian Valor

There had been an uneasy feeling in Leonard Samson’s stomach all afternoon, and it had nothing to do with anything he’d eaten. Rather, it was due to the unusual behavior of several students. He’d heard them saying something about the university’s radiation labs, but while the snatches of conversation he heard sounded like they were discussing an experiment, the fact that they mentioned gamma radiation made him worried. After all, Culver University was where Bruce Banner conducted the experiment that turned him into the Hulk.  
  
It was those concerns that led him to make his way to that particular lab once classes had ended, and what he found vindicated his fears. Dr. Thomas, one of the newer professors, was attaching what was clearly a bomb to the gamma radiation machine, the students gathered around in eager anticipation.  
  
_Are they trying to become like the Hulk?_ Samson wondered. _If they are, they’re only going to get killed. Bruce was testing a serum similar to the one used by Project Rebirth, and that‘s probably what let him survive._  
  
“What do you think you’re doing?”  
  
Dr. Thomas turned, smiling as he caught sight of Samson. “Hello, Leonard. You wish to join us?”  
  
“Mistress Leonora will be happy you came along,” one of the students chimed in.  
  
“Leonora?” Samson asked, confused. “What are you talking about?”  
  
“She is the one who told us how to escape this place of suffering,” another student said in a reverent tone. “All we need to do is activate this device.”  
  
“Have you lost your minds?” protested Samson. “Setting off that bomb will destroy the machine and unleash enough radiation to turn the whole campus into a second Chernobyl!”  
  
“We will simply be freeing everyone else here then,” Dr. Thomas said simply. “Is everyone ready?”  
  
“No!”  
  
Samson lunged forward to try and stop Dr. Thomas from activating the bomb, but it was too late. However, the world around him suddenly looked like someone had placed a green filter over it, though for some reason he was not affected.  
  
“We need to get out of here.”  
  
Caught off guard, Samson spun around. In the open doorway stood a girl wearing a Japanese schoolgirl’s uniform, her jet black hair in twin braids and a faint ring of green in her otherwise purple eyes.  
  
“The time field I placed should last long enough to get everyone out,” the girl said.  
  
“But what about the bomb?” Samson asked, putting aside his confusion about where the girl had come from.  
  
“I don’t think I can stop it, but the field should be able to contain the explosion and prevent fallout.”  
  
Samson shook his head. “You get them out of here. I’ll try and remove the bomb.”  
  
Nodding, the girl began removing people from the room. As she did so, Samson hurried over to the radiation machine and began trying to detach the bomb. Unfortunately, the device was stuck fast, and by the time the students and Dr. Thomas were safely evacuated, the timer had reached zero. He was thrown from the room by the force of the blast, and just before he passed out, he caught a glimpse of the girl running towards him.  
  
(MM&M)  
  
“—sa, sa, issho ni ite...”  
  
As Samson slowly regained consciousness, he saw the girl looking down at him with a worried expression. Her eyes were glowing with green light, and discs of green energy were floating before her open palms, slowly turning counterclockwise. Though he was still too weak to move, he could feel the lingering pain from the blast slowly fading away.  
  
_What is she doing? It feels...like some kind of energy is being fed into my body._  
  
Finally, the glow faded from her eyes, and the discs vanished. Seeing that he was conscious once more, she let out a sigh of relief.  
  
“Oh, thank goodness. I was trying to reverse what that blast did to you, but I wasn’t sure if that would work.”  
  
Rubbing his forehead, Samson sat up, bracing himself against the nearby wall. “Who are you, exactly?”  
  
“My name’s Homura,” she replied. “And you are?”  
  
“Dr. Leonard Samson. I‘m part of the faculty here.”  
  
Nodding, Homura got to her feet. “Stay here. I’ll be back as soon as I deal with the witch.”  
  
With that, she turned and ran off, leaving Samson to regain his bearings. Just as he regained the strength to stand, however, the world around him changed, the familiar hallway being replaced by the ruins of some kind of temple with numerous broken pillars made of mirror glass. Dozens of large bee-like things were flying about, briefly stopping to land on one of the grotesquely mutated flowers that were growing from the vines wrapped around the pillars. Some of said bees, apparently noticing Samson’s arrival, separated from the rest, flying over to a large rock. As Samson frantically searched for a way to escape, several more forced him to the ground.  
  
“Fleisch! Fleisch für unsere Königin!”  
  
“Knirschen Sie die Knochen und verbrennen Sie die Haut.”  
  
“Iss das Herz und die Seele in dir.”  
  
Samson struggled to break free from their grasp, but the bees brought over the rock and pinned him under it. As they dropped the rock, however, the ones holding him down let go, enabling him to catch it. He was barely able to keep it from crushing him, and it didn’t help that the swarm started pushing down, trying to press him to death. But having already survived a massive blast of gamma radiation, he was determined to get out of this insane situation alive.  
  
_I am_ not _going to die here!_  
  
As he pushed back against the swarm, Samson felt an unexpected surge of power course through him. He could hear a series of strange cracking noises, as well as the sound of cloth being ripped apart, but he ignored them, focusing on freeing himself. Only when he accomplished his goal—pushing the rock off him and sending it hurtling to the ground, where it crushed the bees—did he realize that he felt very, very different.  
  
_Did I...get taller?_  
  
Glancing down, he saw that not only was he indeed nearly a foot taller, but he’d buffed up considerably too. Though he hadn’t been nearly as frail as Steve Rogers was before Project Rebirth, it wasn’t hard to see the similarity between the results of the super soldier experiment and what had just happened to him. Much to his relief, his skin hadn’t changed color, though as he caught his reflection in a nearby pillar, he saw that his hair, now long enough to reach just past his broadened shoulders, had turned a vibrant shamrock green. His eyes widened in amazement—he could barely believe that it was him staring back, rather than some version of his biblical namesake.  
  
“Wow,” he breathed softly.  
  
Approaching the pillar to get a closer look, he couldn’t help but admire the result of his transformation. Not that he hadn’t been attractive before, but he was definitely not complaining about his new form.  
  
_I could probably be mistaken for an Asgardian,_ he thought to himself. _And I feel so strong—clearly these muscles aren’t just for show. That energy Homura was using to heal me...could it have interacted with the gamma radiation somehow?_  
  
A loud roaring sound jolted him out of his thoughts. Out from behind a pile of rubble emerged a monster resembling a humanoid lioness with the hind legs of a donkey. She (he assumed it was female) charged towards him, snarling in rage and meaty paws outstretched, but he caught them.  
  
_Whatever she is, she’s strong...but so am I!_  
  
Feeling much more confident, he flipped the monster and pinned her to the ground with one hand, grabbing hold of her jaws with the other. She struggled furiously to escape, but he refused to let her out of his grasp.  
  
”I’m glad you’re unharmed, Sensei,” Homura’s voice rang out. “Now allow me to finish the witch off.”  
  
Assuming that she was referring to the monster—though he felt ‘witch’ was an odd description—he adjusted his position to give her a clear shot. Her eyes glowed briefly, and she seemed to vanish for a split second. When she reappeared, there was a knife in her hand dripping red, and the monster’s belly had been sliced open. Letting out a sound between a roar and a woman’s scream, the beast went limp before melting into a thick, cloying golden liquid. As the world around them returned to normal, Homura crouched down to pick up a small black and silver object floating in the puddle of liquid. She wiped off a bit of the substance, then licked her finger.  
  
”Honey. Feels appropriate somehow.”  
  
Samson raised an eyebrow. “Now that we’re out of danger, would you mind explaining what just happened?”  
  
Homura nodded. “Come with me. There’s someone else who needs to hear about this.”  
  
(MM&M)  
  
“There were two of these...Eldritch witches?”  
  
Homura nodded. “One was the witch that placed Thomas-sensei and those students under her control through what are called witch kisses. The other emerged while you were unconscious.”  
  
Before explaining the insane situation, she had insisted on making a quick stop outside, where the body of Judy Dearborn—the girl who had produced the second witch—had been lying. Her younger sister Delilah had stayed with the corpse after Homura had rescued her and defeated the tragic monster that had sprung from Judy’s corrupted soul.  
  
_That poor girl_ , Samson thought to himself. _First her parents are lost to the Snap, and now her sister’s gone too. Just thinking about how much she’s suffering, never mind every other kid in her situation...it breaks my heart._  
  
“One of the other professors is checking to see if Delilah-chan has any other family,” said Homura, noticing how he’d been looking over at the distraught child.  
  
“Well, whatever happens to her, I know that she is going to need a lot of love and attention.”  
  
“Maybe you could help,” Homura suggested. “You’re a psychiatrist, right?”  
  
Samson nodded. “I am, but at the same time...” He paused. “Years ago, when I first met Bruce Banner, he was trying to get rid of the Hulk, and I couldn’t blame him. But the Battle of New York happened, and according to a couple of interviews I read, he went there willingly to help fight. Not only that, but rather than disappear again, he stayed as a member of the Avengers.” He looked down at his hands. “You’d think he’d go back to trying to cure himself, but he settled for trying to use the Hulk’s power for good.”  
  
“And now that you have a better idea of what it’s like to have that kind of power...”  
  
“I’m starting to understand the appeal of being a superhero,” he admitted. “Perhaps now...I can do more to help than just provide counseling.”  
  
Closing her eyes, Homura let her mind open to view the many timelines that were forming. A smile crossed her face as she saw where Samson’s path would lead. While he probably wouldn’t be quite on the same level as the Avengers, he would certainly make a difference, both as a psychiatrist and a hero.  
  
“Yes, I‘m sure you can.”

**Author's Note:**

> Quick note: Homura is not a Puella Magi in this universe. Her power comes from another source, which will eventually be revealed.
> 
> Witch Info-  
> Leonora  
> The lion huntress witch, with a ravenous nature. Although she is able to subsist on the honey produced by her minions, she desires meat, and will eagerly seek to devour any human who enters her barrier. However, the meat she consumes will turn to honey as soon as it fills her stomach.
> 
> Minion Info-  
> Mellifera  
> The lion huntress witch’s minion, whose duty is to make honey. Their stingers inject a powerful acid, which can destroy internal organs in seconds. However, they will die if they use it, so they work together to pick up objects and throw them instead.


End file.
